Why YIMBY?
There are a wealth of resources on every aspect of YIMBYism. From supply’s proven ability to make homes more affordable to the positive impact of density on climate emissions. We’ve collected a selection of the best work here.
The Housing Theory of Everything
“The Housing Theory of Everything” argues that the housing shortages in Western societies exacerbate a multitude of societal issues, including inequality, climate change, and even declining fertility rates. It suggests that the rising cost of housing, driven by insufficient supply in desirable areas, affects everything from personal life choices to broader economic productivity. Addressing housing shortages, therefore, could have far-reaching benefits beyond just making homes more affordable, potentially solving many seemingly unrelated problems.
Long read article
Affordability
City-wide effects of new housing supply: Evidence from moving chains
Academic paper
How high-end housing quickly frees lower cost homes through moving chains.
Bratu, Harjunen, Saarimaa (2023)
Does new housing for the rich benefit the poor?
Academic paper
How new homes can free up more affordable housing.
Liang and Kingström (2023)
Houston, We Have A Solution
Long-read article
A history of Houston’s success in keeping rent low through small-scale building.
Martin (2023)
The affordability impacts of new housing supply: A summary of recent research
Research notes
James Gleeson (2023)
The Economic Implications of Housing Supply
Academic paper
The benefits of building more homes for housing affordability.
Glaeser and Gyourko (2018)
The effect of new market-rate housing construction on the low-income housing market
Academic paper
Mast (2023)
Housing Supply and Housing Bubbles
Academic Paper
Places with more elastic housing supply have fewer and shorter bubbles, with smaller price increases.
Glaeser, Gyourko and Saiz (2008)
Environment
No free parking
Book
The importance of streets and the impact of car-centrism.
Nicholas Boys Smith (2022)
The Greenness of Cities.
Academic paper
The climate benefits of more homes.
Glaeser and Kahn (2008)
Why State Land Use Reform Should Be a Priority Climate Lever for America
Policy Paper
How land use policies can be used to help us fight climate change.
RMI 2024
Going Denser: Density and the Climate
Article
The climate benefits of density.
YIMBY Alliance
Why Britain Doesn't Build
“Why Britain Doesn’t Build” by Samuel Watling explores the historical and systemic challenges that have hindered housing development in Britain since World War II. It highlights the stringent planning rules established in the mid-20th century, the failure of various government attempts to increase housing through planning system reforms, and the consequences of these policies on housing scarcity and affordability
Long read article
Good jobs and growth
Cities Limited
Article
Labour markets, regional inequality and urban economics.
Tim Leunig (2007)
Demand for Density?: The Functions of the City in the 21st Century
Article
Glaeser (2000)
Driving Productivity and Growth in the UK Economy
Academic paper
Commissioned by Gordon Brown found that productivity losses from stricti planning caused a loss of 3% of GDP in the hospitality and retail sectors alone.
McKinsey Global Institute (1998)
Location, Location, Location
Academic paper
The earning gains a worker gains from housing mobility, and the impact of larger city size on raising overall wages through agglomeration effects.
Card, Rothstein, and Yi (2021)
Networking off Madison Avenue.
Academic paper
The strength of agglomeration and spatial impacts.
Arzaghi and Henderson (2008)
The Effect of High-Tech Clusters on the Productivity of Top Inventors
Academic paper
The benefits of city growth on innovation.
Moretti (2021)
The Geography of Unconventional Innovation.
Academic paper
High-density cities produce unconventional ideas.
Berkes and Gaetani (2019)
The Gridlock Economy
Book
Michael Heller (2008)
Talk by Heller.
Urban Growth and Its Aggregate Implications
Academic paper
The benefits of building more homes for worker mobility, and worker earnings and opportunities.
Duranton and Puga (2023).
General reading
Strong Suburbs
Policy paper
A proposal for streets votes to enable residents to extend or build.
Ben Southwood and Samuel Hughes (2022)
What Texas can teach San Francisco and London about building houses
Article
John Burn-Murdoch (2024)